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Melinoe
Melinoe is the goddess of ghosts. She was the daughter of Hades and Persephone. Melaina ("The Black One") is the under-earth or chthonic aspect of the Greek Great Goddess, said to bring nightmares. Different Goddesses are called by Her name. Aphrodite Melainis represents a dark aspect of the Goddess of love as underworld Deity, though some say She is called "Black" because love-making often takes place at night. The underworld Goddess Melinoe was considered the daughter of Persephone (Kore) and Hades, queen and king of the underworld. She was called Khthonia, "Of the Lower World", a name also applied to Demeter. She was said to be half dark and half light (like Hel), from Her dark father Hades and Her mother who represented light. She walked the earth after dark bringing fear and night terrors. As Persephone is considered to be a form of Demeter as death Goddess, so Melinoe should probably be seen as another underworld aspect of the Greek Great Goddess. Melaina is also the epithet of Demeter Herself as an underworld Goddess, and in this respect was also called Khthonia. A cave on Mount Elaios near the Attican town of Phigalia was sacred to Her. In Her long search for Her abducted daughter Kore, Demeter turned Herself into a mare to escape the attentions of Poseidon. But Poseidon found Her, and as a stallion He raped Her. She then gave birth to a daughter called Despoine, "the Mistress" after which She wore black and shut Herself in the cave. Her statue in the cave near Phigalia showed Her as a seated woman with a horse's head, snakes and monsters growing from Her hair. In one hand She held a dolphin, in the other a dove. In this form She was called Mare-Headed Demeter. Name Meaning Melinoë may derive from Greek mēlinos (μήλινος), "having the color of quince," from mēlon (μῆλον), "tree fruit". The fruit's yellowish-green color evoked the pallor of illness or death for the Greeks. A name derived from melas, "black," would be ''melan-'', not ''melin-''. Melinoe: “Soothing One,” “Gentle-Minded,” or perhaps “of the Color of Quince” Birth In the Orphic Mysteries, a spin off from traditional Greek Mythology, Melinoë is the daughter of Persephone, who was visited by Zeus disguised as her husband Hades. Although the wording of the hymn is unclear at this point, Pluto (or perhaps Zeus) becomes angry upon learning of the pregnancy and rends her flesh. The figure called Zeus Chthonios in the Orphic Hymns is either another name for Pluto or Zeus in a chthonic aspect. There are other traditions that call her a daughter of Hades himself. Among them include the story of Melinoe's contraception upon the Island Nysion (Or Mysion) when Hades engaged in a tryst with his wife, Persephone, although no surviving scriptures detail this. Melinoë is born at the mouth of the Cocytus, one of the rivers of the underworld, where Hermes in his underworld aspect as psychopomp was stationed. In the Orphic tradition, the Cocytus is one of four underworld rivers. Appearance She has a pale complexion and short temper, taking after her father Hades in almost every way, except for her extreme beauty which she gets from her mother Persephone. She is said to possess a mixture of black and white hair, representing her Upperworld and Underworld heritage. When she haunts mortals, she is said to possess a half black, half white demonic appearance. Powers Melinoe has the powers to turn any mortal insane with her ghostly phantoms. She leads the restless and vengeful spirits of the Underworld to haunt the living during the night. This is said to be the reason why dogs howl at nothing. Modern Culture *She appears in the story "The Sword of Hades" in Rick Riodrdan's book "The Demigod Files" Gallery Melione.jpg|Melione Category:Females Category:Immortals Category:Children of Persephone Category:Goddesses Category:Underworld Residents Category:Deities Category:Underworld Deities Category:Female Category:Immortal Category:Underworld Goddesses Category:Daughter Category:Daughters Category:Children of Hades